not very big, or we should not be able to hide
ourselves so well," observed Jerry as we crept on. The valley lay far
below us, with steep precipices and a brawling torrent, with rocks and
shrubs scattered about; and high above us wild jagged peaks and
snow-covered mountain-tops. The stillness of the air was most
extraordinary. Not a sound reached our ears. Never have I been in a
wilder or more magnificent scene. I do not know what our four-footed
companion thought of it, but he certainly enjoyed the idea of catching a
guanaco--so did we, indeed, more than anything else. We had got within
five hundred yards of the nearest without being discovered. Hitherto we
had gone on very cautiously. Our eagerness overcame our discretion. We
left cover and ran on exposing ourselves to view.

"Stop, stop, Harry!" sang out Jerry. "We are near enough to fire; stop
and let us recover our wind." The advice was good, and I was about to
follow it, when one of the guanacoes turned his head and saw us. Before
we could bring our rifles to our shoulders, they were off like the wind.
Jerry was going to fire after them but I stopped him, pointing to
another herd a short distance further off, along the side of the
mountain.

"You'll frighten them too if you do," I observed. "Let us try to get up
to them more cautiously." One great difficulty was to keep Surley back,
or he would have followed the herd till he had caught one of them, or
broken his neck over a precipice. Consoling ourselves for our
disappointment with the hopes of getting near enough up to the next herd
to fire before being seen, we scrambled on as before. Now and then we
glanced behind us to mark the spot where we had left Fleming, while we
kept an eye in the direction Mr McRitchie had taken; and on that broad
exposed mountain-side, we did not think it possible that we could miss
each other. We climbed on, therefore, without any misgivings as to how
we should find our way back again. I fastened my handkerchief through
Surley's collar to keep him back. He was thus able also sometimes to
help me up a steep place or a rock quicker than I could have got by
myself. Jerry followed close behind me. The distance was, we found,
greater than we expected to the next herd. We were, fortunately, to
leeward of them, and not one of them noticed our approach. We halted
behind a thick cactus. There was a rock some three hundred yards
further off, and within a good shot of t